"Do you really want to know?"
Hearing this, Daochen looked at Luo Hou in the deep pit and gave a mocking smile.
"Impudent! You..."
Luo Hou flew into a rage. Although he was now merely a wisp of remnant soul, he had once been the mighty Devil Ancestor. Who dared speak to him like that?
Yet before Luo Hou could finish, a large foot suddenly descended from above and stomped on his face.
"Don't throw your title of Devil Ancestor around with me. In my eyes, you're nothing but a lone ghost about to die!"
Daochen bent down and looked at Luo Hou with utter contempt.
The Devil Ancestor?
Nothing but a wisp of remnant soul.
Did he really think he was still the Devil Ancestor who could summon wind and rain?
The only reason he had been left alive until now was that he still had some use!
"What exactly do you want?"
Seeing the undisguised murderous intent in Daochen's eyes, this wisp of Luo Hou's remnant soul panicked as well.
Ultimately, he was not the true Luo Hou, merely a wisp of remnant soul that had escaped by sheer luck when Luo Hou fell.
Had the real Luo Hou been here...
That peerless tyrant who could toy with the Three Primordial Clans in the palm of his hand would have ended his own life beneath heaven and earth the instant he failed.
His pride would never have allowed him to stand by and accept his own defeat!
But this remnant soul now...
He fell far too short of Luo Hou himself!
That had become unmistakably clear the moment Daochen gravely wounded him.
"What do you think?"
Daochen scoffed and shook his head contemptuously.
With a casual beckoning gesture, the God-Slaying Spear hovering beside Luo Hou's remnant soul flew into Daochen's hand.
Had Luo Hou's remnant soul shown a little more backbone, Daochen would have explained how he had discovered his whereabouts.
He would have let Luo Hou's remnant soul die knowing the truth.
But now, that seemed unnecessary.
This remnant soul of Luo Hou had disappointed him far too much!
Hum!
A Golden Crow Divine Flame suddenly emerged from Daochen's hand. Like a golden fire dragon, it opened its blood-red maw and snapped at Luo Hou's remnant soul.
"No!"
Luo Hou's remnant soul struggled violently, but how could his current strength possibly match Daochen's?
Within moments, the Golden Crow Divine Flame had engulfed his entire body. The supremely yang, unyielding energy within the flame was the perfect bane of a ghostly being like Luo Hou's remnant soul.
In less than a moment, the last wisp of soul Luo Hou had left in the world vanished completely between heaven and earth.
As Luo Hou's remnant soul perished, the demonic qi throughout the abyss gradually thinned, revealing faint glimpses of the crystalline ice beneath.
"Alas!"
Daochen glanced at the spot where Luo Hou's remnant soul had been, shook his head, and sighed softly.
What did it matter if one shook the Primordial World and stood at its very pinnacle?
Without becoming a Sage, one remained an ant in the end.
Yet just as Daochen was about to turn and leave, a jet-black gleam suddenly shone from deep within the crystalline ice.
"Could it be the World-Destroying Black Lotus?"
Daochen froze for a moment, then wild delight suddenly swept across his incomparably handsome face.
When Luo Hou himself fell, only the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords among his three Xiantian Spiritual Treasures had ended up in Hongjun's hands. The God-Slaying Spear and the World-Destroying Black Lotus had vanished without a trace.
During their earlier battle, Luo Hou's remnant soul had brought out only the God-Slaying Spear. Daochen had assumed he did not possess the World-Destroying Black Lotus, never expecting that the remnant soul had hidden it beneath the ice.
Had that faint gleam not appeared just now, he truly would not have discovered the World-Destroying Black Lotus beneath the ice.
Luo Hou was dead, and the spiritual treasure had a spirit of its own. Naturally, it was unwilling to remain forever in the small world within the Moon Laurel Tree. By releasing a wisp of black light now, it was merely choosing a new master!
At Daochen's thought, the Heaven Measuring Ruler appeared once more and crashed down upon the ice above the World-Destroying Black Lotus.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out, and fine, spiderweb-like cracks immediately spread across the ice covering the World-Destroying Black Lotus.
As the ice fractured, streaks of jet-black divine radiance slowly emerged from beneath it.
Bang!
A dull boom rang out as the ice formed from lunar yin energy exploded. Black divine radiance flashed, and a palm-sized lotus pedestal, its entire surface shining with jet-black divine light, appeared in Daochen's hand.
"It really is the World-Destroying Black Lotus!"
Delight lit Daochen's face.
The World-Destroying Black Lotus had formed from a lotus seed of the Chaos supreme treasure, the Creation Green Lotus. It was a defensive treasure of the Supreme Xiantian Spiritual Treasure grade.
Although the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and the Earth-Leaving Flame Light Banner he had seized from Laozi and Yuanshi were also Supreme Xiantian Spiritual Treasures, their defensive power fell far short of the World-Destroying Black Lotus!
This World-Destroying Black Lotus perfectly filled Daochen's most pressing need for a defensive spiritual treasure!
Daochen's figure flashed, and he returned directly to Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Dijun.
Even now, as Changxi and Xihe watched the demonic qi gradually dissipate from the abyss, bewilderment lingered on their exquisitely beautiful faces!
The remnant soul of Luo Hou that had plagued the sisters for so many long years had actually perished?
And so quickly?
For some reason, the sisters still felt as though none of it was real.
After all, the shadow Luo Hou's remnant soul had cast over them throughout those long years had been far too heavy!
"Fellow Daoist Changxi, Luo Hou's remnant soul is dead. I shall take my leave now!"
The gains Daochen had made on this journey to the Lunar Star were no less than those from the first lecture at the Purple Heavens Palace.
Now that it was over, he needed to advance his cultivation into the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm as soon as possible, before the second lecture.
He also needed to refine the God-Slaying Spear and the World-Destroying Black Lotus without delay.
"I have no way to repay your great kindness today, fellow Daoist. This is the Moonlight Divine Water I have accumulated over many years. Please accept it as a small repayment for your immense favor."
Changxi was briefly taken aback, but soon recovered. With a beckoning gesture, a Jade-Clean Bottle wreathed in endless cold appeared in her hand.
It contained dozens of times more Moonlight Divine Water than she had brought out before.
Clearly, to repay Daochen, Changxi had brought out her entire stock.
"In that case, I shall accept it."
Daochen smiled faintly. Mystic light flashed, and the Jade-Clean Bottle containing the Moonlight Divine Water instantly vanished from his hand.
Although the Moonlight Divine Water was of little use to him now, he might well find a use for it in the future.
After all, like the Three Lights Divine Water, the Moonlight Divine Water was among the finest sacred substances in heaven and earth for nurturing spiritual plants. Even when used in alchemy, it was a supreme medicinal substance.
Daochen had slain Luo Hou without displaying the slightest arrogance over his achievement, making Changxi admire him even more deeply.
With Daochen's strength and talent, his future accomplishments would surely be boundless.
Although Daochen had taken her entire stock, Changxi felt no resentment at all. Instead, she felt that everything was worthwhile if it allowed her to forge a favorable bond with him today.
"Daoist Brother Daochen, by slaying Luo Hou and eliminating this demonic being, you have earned tremendous merit for the countless living beings of the Lunar Star. Even for the entire Primordial World, your merit is immeasurable."
Changxi spoke with a smile, then waved her delicate hand, and a Jade Carriage appeared in the air.
"Now that Luo Hou is dead, if you don't mind, fellow Daoist, why not visit our Moon God Palace for a short while?"
Xihe also spoke with a smile.
"Thank you for your kind invitation, fellow Daoist, but I still have important matters to attend to, so I shall not linger here."
After a moment's consideration, Daochen still shook his head as he replied.
"In that case, we shall meet again at the Purple Heavens Palace."
Hearing Daochen decline, Xihe could not help showing a trace of disappointment on her exquisitely beautiful face.
Daochen nodded slightly. Then his figure moved, the Heaven Measuring Ruler appeared beneath his feet, and he vanished from the Lunar Star in an instant with Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
Changxi and Xihe watched Daochen leave. Recalling everything that had happened that day, their hearts were filled with a hundred tangled emotions.
Although the Daoist attendants and serving maids who had come to greet them were puzzled, they dared not ask any questions.
They kept feeling that the two lunar goddesses had changed somewhat.
After Daochen left the Lunar Star, just as he was about to return to the sun, the winds and clouds suddenly shifted in the void of Chaos. Misty qi gathered, and endless purple qi descended from the nine heavens, falling squarely upon Daochen.
Seeing the purple qi descend, Dijun's and Eastern Emperor Taiyi's eyes immediately blazed with light.
"Congratulations, eldest brother! Congratulations! It seems that slaying Luo Hou's remnant soul truly brought immeasurable merit to the entire Primordial World, just as Fellow Daoist Changxi said."
This purple qi was none other than Heavenly Dao Merit.
Merit offered cultivators tremendous benefits, so Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi were deeply envious when they saw heaven bestow merit upon Daochen.
A hint of delight also appeared on Daochen's face. He casually gathered the merit, but did not immediately refine it.
Heavenly Dao Merit could be converted directly into cultivation, helping cultivators rapidly increase their strength. In the ages to come, the six Heaven-Appointed Sages, including Nüwa and Laozi, would all attain Sagehood through merit.
Yet aside from increasing cultivation, merit had various other wondrous uses. It could stabilize fortune and help cultivators swiftly refine the restrictions within spiritual treasures.
For Daochen, whose Chaos Golden Crow origins already allowed him to cultivate faster than ordinary beings, using merit to increase his cultivation would have been far too wasteful.
With a beckoning gesture, the Heaven Measuring Ruler suddenly appeared in his hand.
"Go!"
Daochen flicked his finger, and the merit immediately flowed into the Heaven Measuring Ruler.
As the merit continued to merge with it, the clear light of merit upon the Heaven Measuring Ruler grew increasingly rich, while the nine Innate Divine Restrictions Daochen had yet to refine within it...
Were all refined almost instantly.
A feeling of wielding the treasure as naturally as his own arm spread through Daochen's heart. It was as though the entire Heaven Measuring Ruler had become part of his body, and his magical power flowed through it without the slightest resistance.
If he encountered Luo Hou again now, Daochen was confident he could slay him with the Heaven Measuring Ruler alone, without relying on the Chaos Bell.
After all, in terms of treasure grade, the Heaven Measuring Ruler was no weaker than the God-Slaying Spear.
Indeed, when it came to opposing attributes, the Heaven Measuring Ruler had formed from the merit Pangu earned by opening heaven. It naturally restrained a supreme treasure of the killing path like the God-Slaying Spear!
"Congratulations, eldest brother! Congratulations!"
Sensing the tremendous increase in the Heaven Measuring Ruler's power, Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi also showed delight on their faces.
Daochen was their eldest brother. Naturally, they were happy that his strength had increased again.
Before you continue